KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN—Harlingen South sophomore Justin Diaz and senior Lola Garza are no stranger to the state swimming meet after qualifying last season.

Now, both will be heading back to Austin for a second straight year adding just another accolade to what have been long swimming careers.

For Diaz, he has been swimming since he was eight years old.

In fact, it was his older brother who also swam for the Hawks that helped spark his interest for swimming.

“We would pick up my brother from practice and we saw there were clubs, so that is when I decided to join,” Diaz said. “It was intimidating at first watching him because he was a very good swimmer and I thought to myself I need to be faster than him.”

Diaz competed in the 200 Individual Medley at last year’s state meet and set school records at this year’s regional meet in the 200 IM with a 1:59.05 time and in the 100 backstroke with a 54.25.

Along with the records, Diaz managed to finish in first place in both events.

“Last year I went into the meet feeling sick and I felt I wasn’t able to compete at the highest level,” said Diaz. “In the IM, I really wanted to break the two-minute mark and it was my previous school record which was a 2:02 and in the backstroke, I was hoping to go under a 54, but I’m still good with my time.”

As for Garza, she has been swimming since she was in seventh grade.

At a young age, Garza felt she had a knack for swimming, and since then, she has found herself with a successful career in the pool.

Garza, who is one of four members from Harlingen South that will head to Austin, is just excited to be on the team and enjoys the chemistry.

“We are all very close,” Garza said. “When one of us makes it to state, it motivates the underclassmen to want to go. We push and motivate each other to get better and we all work together.”

Garza feels much more relaxed in her second go in Austin.

With a trip to the state meet under her belt there are no more butterflies, just adrenaline.

“We are sheltered here and when we go up the state level and see the talent it is amazing, but it motivates us to be better,” said Garza. “I was more excited than I was nervous when I went to state last year; I just go and have a good time. It is my senior year, I’m a little sad to go, but I’m excited I’m able to go my senior year.”

Garza finished in second place at the regional meet with a time of 1:13.18 in the 100 breaststroke.

“Now here in the last few days it’s just going over the basics and fine-tuning some things and we will be ready to get going for this weekend.” Garza said.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

LYFORD — Entering Tuesday night’s Class 4A bi-district round, La Feria found itself as underdogs against Corpus Christi West Oso.

Despite falling behind early, the Lionettes put together a gutsy performance against a stifling full-court press before losing 44-31, thus ending their season.

West Oso advances to the area round, where it will meet La Verina.

La Feria senior point guard Karina Diaz paced the offense with a game-high 12 points, and fellow senior Kayla Lowe netted six points.

“Tonight was tough,” Diaz said. “I thought we played well together, we went three big and that was different, but overall I thought we played as one. Coach wanted us to keep pushing. We were right in the mix at halftime.”

All night long, the Lionettes struggled to break the press of West Oso, forcing La Feria coach Angel Martinez to adjust his lineup. Along with the press, La Feria could not overcome its turnovers but managed to keep pace during the first half.

“West Oso has size, so I had to go with another forward to match up with their size,” Martinez said. “Now what happens is when I add another forward is I lose a shooter, and that hurts us on offense, and we tried to match everything up as best as we could.”

West Oso raced out to a quick 7-0 run that stretched to a 14-5 lead late in the first quarter. Alyssa Grant scored a game-high 12 points and led the Lady Bears’ offense.

“Lowe got in some foul trouble and when she is out, we have a hard time bringing the ball up,” Martinez said. “Much credit to West Oso, they brought the press and manned us up all night. The late turnovers and the press is what helped them get the lead late.”

After trailing by double digits, the Lionettes rallied in the second quarter behind Diaz and cut the lead to 21-18 at the half. La Feria got as close as 21-20 during the third quarter.

La Feria was outscored 23-13 during the second half, only putting together five points in the fourth quarter.

Moving forward, the Lionettes will lose Diaz and Lowe to graduation. The duo will be tough to replace next season, but La Feria will look to Maggie Cavazos, Jeno Ochoa and Reanne Fraga to contribute next year.

“My senior year had a lot of ups and downs,” Lowe said. “I thought we played a hell of a game tonight. Who would have thought we would be that close with a team who finished as a district camp? Both Karina and I told the young girls that we didn’t want this to be our last game, but it is and that is fine, but we do know they will all get back to work and they will be ready for next season.”

By KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

EDINBURG — In what was a tale of two halves, it was the duo of Edinburg Vela freshman Lauren Vega and sophomore Andrea Molina that helped seal a 41-37 come-from-behind win against Harlingen South in the Class 6A bi-district round Monday night in Edinburg.

Vega netted a game-high 15 points, and Molina scored eight points in the win.

The Sabercats now await the winner of the McAllen High-Laredo United matchup. The two meet tonight.

Vela trailed by as many as 10 points late in the second quarter. The Hawks’ Laura Ramirez carried the offense with 11 first-half points, hitting three shots from beyond the arc.

While Ramirez lit up the gym, it was Vega who flipped the switch during the second half.

“When you think about that combo with Vega and Molina, you don’t think about the experience coming into the game,” Vela coach Lottie Zarate said. “At halftime we talked about taking the bull by the horns, and I didn’t care which player it was, they knew what they had to do.”

After a hot first half, Vela’s defense adjusted to Ramirez and held her scoreless during the second half. South junior Karla Reyes finished the night with 10 points.

“We decided to run a diamond and 1, and we stuck with it the whole second half,” Zarate said. “(Karla) is a great asset for South, and we prepared. I know she is a great no-look passer and a great and unselfish player, so I told the girls this week that we need to prepare and be patient.”

The stage was never too big for Vega or Molina. Molina hit back-to-back 3s, followed by a Vega bucket that tied the game at 25 midway through the third quarter.

The youngsters sparked the second-half comeback, and gave Vela its first lead at 33-31 with 3:16 left in the third quarter thanks to a Vega basket. Vela did not trail the rest of the night.

Reyes hit a 3-pointer that cut the lead to 37-35. On the next possession, Bianca Rodriguez did not complete the three-point play with 21 seconds left, and South trailed by one. On the next trip, Vela senior Kayleen Rios hit a pair of free throws to help ice the game.

“ (Vela) got hot in the second half,” South coach Kelly Garrett said. “They have great shooters and they got hot, and we broke down a few times and we gave them too many opportunities, and they hurt us on the offensive boards. We did not do our job on that part.”

Down the stretch South struggled from the field, and it struggled on the offensive boards throughout the night.

Despite the loss, Harlingen South had quite the turnaround by going 7-3 in District 32-6A. The Hawks return Reyes and Ramirez to the lineup next season as seniors. Overall, the team returns nine players.

“I told the kids to keep their head held high,” Garrett said. “For those that are coming back, we will get back to work and will work just as hard for next year. To the seniors, we wish them the best. We have a lot coming back, but also a lot of work to do.”

MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer

SAN BENITO — The 2019 Rio Grande Valley track & field season is officially off and running.

Well, for the most part.

Wet and chilly weather forecasts earlier in the week led to the cancellation of field events, but temperatures continued to fall into the low 40s, forcing meet officials at the Bobby Morrow Relays to call it a day Friday in San Benito.

San Benito athletic director Dan Gomez said the decision was made with the athletes in mind.

“The No. 1 concern for any coach is the safety of their athletes,” he said. “With the weather the way it was, we decided to cancel our field events and our track events. We wanted to get some of our sprints in because the coaches wanted to see their kids work out and compete against other schools. We got in what we could and cut it short so everyone could get home safely.”

In total, the meet ran six events and did not declare a winner.

The 400- and 800-meter relays were the only relays ran Friday.

On the girls side, the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers team placed first, finishing the 400 relay in 52.35 seconds, followed by Brownsville Hanna (52.85) and Sharyland High.

In the 800 relay, the Los Fresnos girls placed first with a time of 1:52.75, followed by Brownsville Veterans and Edinburg High.

With first- and second-place relay finishes under their belts, the Lady Chargers’ Alexa Chavez and Gio Leal felt pretty good despite the short meet.

“We came into the season with a lot less girls than we’re used to,” Chavez said. “So it’s good to start off fresh, and we did better than expected.”

“We did our best today,” Leal added. “We plan on doing better in our next meet. The weather didn’t help, but we did our best and we can’t wait to see what we have ahead of us.”

For the boys, the San Benito Greyhounds took home the gold in the 400 relay with a time of 45.32, followed by Brownsville Pace (45.59) and Harlingen South (45.78).

In the 800, the Sharyland High Rattlers placed first with a time of 1:36.40, followed by Brownsville Porter (1:37.06) and Harlingen South (1:38.36).

In the boys 100 dash, Los Fresnos’ Nico Valencia came in first with a time of 10.90, followed by Enrique Garcia (11.0) and Ismanol Benavidez (11.16).

“I thought it was a good start to get the track season going,” Valencia said. “In our 4-by-100 relay we didn’t have very good handoffs, but it was a good start and we know what we can improve on.”

Hanna’s Jaqueline Mora took the gold in the girls 100 with a time of 12.44, followed by Brownsville Veterans’ Carolina Davila (12.88) and Los Fresnos’ Kameron Garcia (13.01).

In the 3,200, Rivera’s Andrea de la Rosa placed first (12:03) in the girls race and Mercedes’ Guadalupe Reyes took gold in the boys race (10:07.76).

In the 800, Hanna’s Aniel Aguero (2:31.37) and Weslaco High’s Antonio Sanchez (2:06.87) won the girls and boys races, respectively.

Harlingen South’s Nitia Duran won the boys 110-meter hurdles (14.91), and Los Fresnos’ Brianna Alex (14.59) won the girls race.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

SANTA MARIA — After their loss to San Isidro earlier in the season, the San Perlita Trojans have been a team on a mission. Entering Friday’s game against Santa Maria, the Trojans were in control of their own destiny: win, and they would win the district outright.

The Trojans never trailed Friday night, displaying mental toughness, and used a late fourth-quarter run and timely free throws to help seal a 69-61 win over the Cougars in their regular-season finale.

The win gives the Trojans a second straight district title.

“That loss to San Isidro, honestly, is the best thing that happened to us,” Trojans coach Nataniel Garza said. “It brought us together as a unit, and we matured from it. We overcame so much adversity, and this district title means so much to us because of what we went through.”

Four Trojans scored in double figures. On a night when Tige Johnson wasn’t at his peak, his teammates picked him up. Johnson and Julian Herrera each scored 16 points. EJ Nieto, who hit the game’s opening 3, finished with 10 points. Johnson’s eight fourth-quarter points helped seal the Trojans’ win.

“Tige didn’t have his best game tonight, and he knows that,” Garza said. “But this is a tight group and everyone else stepped up, and that shows how deep we are. Late when Santa Maria went on a run, I didn’t call a timeout. I believed in the kids, and they were resilient tonight and it showed, and all the credit goes to the kids.”

San Perlita got off to a 10-2 run in the opening quarter and held a 39-29 lead at the half. The Cougars did not go away quietly, as a 12-5 to start the second half cut the lead to 44-42.

For each shot the Cougars scored, the depth of the Trojans answered. Santa Maria managed to cut the lead to two on multiple occasions late in the fourth quarter, but that was as close as they got. Enrique Cantu led the Cougars’ offense with 16 points in the loss.

“This is something we all wanted,” said sophomore James Herrera, who dashed up and down the court, breaking the press and finishing with 10 points. “We are still a young team, but we all understand the expectations.”

Senior Noah Olivarez finished with five points, but is one of the few seniors on the squad. Winning a second straight district title is just as sweet.

“We came in a little nervous, but as the game went on we were able to find ourselves,” Olivarez said. “There was extra emotions tonight for sure, but this just feels great to win another district title, and especially with this team. I love these guys.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

The regular season is complete and the girl’s basketball playoff teams will take the court for the bi-district round Monday and into Tuesday.

Harlingen High will enter the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the Rio Grande Valley.

Big Red finished the season on a high note, going 30-5 and will host former district opponent Weslaco East Monday at 7 p.m.

The Lady Wildcats squeaked into the playoffs with a 6-6 district record.

Harlingen South will enter the postseason on a two-game skid and will travel to Edinburg Vela on Monday for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

The Lady Hawks finished as the No. 2 seed after going 7-3 in district play, while Vela enters as the No. 3 seed with a 8-4 league record.

Brownsville Hanna won their regular season finale against South and clinched a playoff berth for the first time in 14 years. Hanna will meet Edinburg High with the time and place to be decided. Los Fresnos will square off against Weslaco High Monday at 7 p.m. at La Feria High School.

In class 4A, Rio Hondo will take on Beeville Jones on Tuesday at Bishop High School, with the tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Lady ’Cats turned in a strong regular season under first-year head coach Lori Garcia, going 12-2 in district play.

Rio Hondo will have their work cut out for them when they meet the No. 19 state-ranked Lady Trojans.

La Feria is back in the playoffs and will square off against Corpus Christi West Oso Tuesday.

The game will be played at Lyford High School a t 6 p.m.

The Lionettes finished with a strong 8-6 district record and enter the playoffs with some confidence after finishing with a win over Zapata.

In Class 3A, Lyford will meet Corpus Christi London on Monday at H.M. King High School at 6 p.m.

The Lady Bulldogs finished the regular season 15-1 and were crowned district 32-3A district champs.

Santa Rosa, meanwhile, will hit the road Tuesday and take on Santa Gertrudis Academy at the Steinke Physical Education Center on the campus of Texas A&M University Kingsville at 7:30 p.m.

The Lady Warriors went 10-6 in district play.

In Class 2A, Santa Maria won the district title with a 7-1 district record and will meet either Rivera or Premont and San Perlita will meet either Agua Dulce or Freer.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

SAN BENITO—When Nicko Perez went down with a season-ending ankle injury, he wasn’t sure if he would ever be the same player again.

Now, a year later, Perez returned for his senior season, overcame the odds and will now play football at Mcpherson College next fall.

“This means everything to me,” Perez said. “Ever since I was a little kid growing up playing football, this is something I have always wanted to do. Now, for me to be able to sign on and play at the next level is a dream come true.”

Perez missed his junior season, but returned to the field and helped anchor the Greyhounds’ defense.

“The school just stood out to me,” Perez said. “Right away I felt at home, all the coaches welcomed me. Hopefully I’ll be able to play defensive end, but I’m ready to play wherever they need me.”

Throughout his career he displayed toughness and the willingness to work.

Against San Antonio East Central, when the ankle injury occurred, Perez managed to play one more down and then came off the field on his own.

“Sharpen the axe, just keep on doing what you’re doing,” San Benito coach Dan Gomez said. “Don’t stop working that would be my advice to him.”

Perez came out strong his senior year and led the team in tackles for loss with 19 and finished with 59 total tackles and finished tied for the team lead in sacks with 12.

“He was able to move all across the defensive line for us,” Gomez said. “And when you have players like that, you are that much better and you can rely on them to do certain things in certain situations.”

On Wednesday, Perez became the second Valley athlete to sign on at Mcpherson College.

Earlier in the day, Santa Rosa senior center Adrian Moreno also signed his letter of intent to play football for the Bulldogs.

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

SANTA ROSA—A pair of Santa Rosa athletes are heading to the next level. Senior Adrian Moreno will play football at Mcpherson College and Ryan Mesa will run track and play football at Campbellsville.

The duo signed their letters of intent in a ceremony Wednesday afternoon in Santa Rosa.

“Today means a lot to me,” Moreno said. “For me to receive an offer from a university to play at the college level means the world to me. It is going to be a hell of a ride, but one thing I know is I will have to work just as hard once I get up there.”

Moreno, who was the starting center this year for the Warriors, will look to play the same position next fall and is also open to a possible position change along the offensive line.

“The coaches were all very straight forward on what they were offering and how they presented the school and the program,” Moreno said. “They were very welcoming and made me feel at home.”

Mesa meanwhile will head to Campbellsville University, leaving the Warriors big shoes to fill next season at the running back position.

The senior back ran for 2,114 yards and 27 total touchdowns and averaged 10 yards per carry.

“This day is special to myself and my family,” Mesa said. “I’m a little nervous, but this is exciting. The school was amazing; they sold it well. The weather is a little different. I met the coaches and they all made me feel comfortable.”

Mesa will look to play the running back position and possibly line up at wide receiver.

“Anytime I get an opportunity to compete at the next level, I’m ready and honestly the track part of it helped me to prepare for football,” Mesa said. “Track and football have always been my two sports. They are what motivate me to be perfect at what I do.”

Mesa will compete in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and hopes to get a shot in the relays.

“The challenge for me will be starting from square one and working my way up,” Mesa said. “It will be a different culture and environment, I will also be far away from home, but this is something I have worked for and has always been a goal of mine.”

MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer

SANTA ROSA — The first half was not a pretty one for the Brownsville IDEA Frontier Chargers or the Santa Rosa Warriors, as both struggled to gain and sustain momentum.

A single point separated the two at the half.

Coming out of the break, however, the Warriors shook off the slow first-half start and mounted a third-quarter run that ultimately lifted them to a 59-41 District 32-3A victory over the visiting Chargers on Tuesday night in Santa Rosa.

The Warriors led 28-27 with 4:29 remaining in the third quarter before going on a 13-3 run to end the period.

Santa Rosa coach Johnny Cipriano said he didn’t give much halftime advice to his players, aside from preaching patience.

“I think we were rushing our shots and trying to put (Frontier) away too early,” the Warriors’ coach said. “I just told them ‘Hey, you’re wide open in the corner; it’s a shooting drill. Take your time and shoot the ball.’ We were executing defensively, we just weren’t scoring offensively.”

While Santa Rosa began to turn it on from the offensive end, the defense began to force Frontier turnovers, allowing fastbreak looks for the Warriors.

From that point on, digging out of a 14-point hole proved to be too much for the Chargers

“Santa Rosa came out in the third quarter and got a good lead on us,” Frontier coach Jerry De La Garza said “We exerted a lot of energy trying to come back. That affected us in the third and the fourth quarter. Hats off to Santa Rosa, they played a great game. I feel like our boys played a great game. Sometimes shots don’t fall in and we struggled to get our set plays to work, but it lets us know what to work on in practice tomorrow.”

The win gives the Warriors a 14-0 district record at least a share of the district crown for the 15th consecutive season. Frontier falls to 12-2.

Leading Santa Rosa on the night was CJ Olivarez with a game-high 19 points, followed by David Bazaldua with 12 and Mike Bermea with 10.

Frontier’s Tyrese Arellano led the Chargers with 15 points, and Gustavo Recio sank a trio of 3-point shots and added 11.

Early on, Arellano had success against the Warriors, scoring six points during the first quarter and helping the Chargers to an early 10-7 lead.

Arellano scored just nine points during the next three quarters as the Warriors’ defense began to zero in on the Chargers guard after the fast start.

“Defensively, we executed what we wanted,” Cipriano said. “We took, for the most part, their main players away. We knew who their scorers were, and we tried to take them away and make the other guys beat us. Fortunately, tonight, it went our way. They still made some forced shots, which we can’t do anything about, but we executed.”

Trailing by two later in the second quarter, a basket by Arellano and a Recio trey on back-to-back possessions gave the Chargers an 18-15 lead and forced the third lead change of the half.

The Warriors answered with a pair of back-to-back scores of their own from Daniel Villarreal and Balzaldua that forced the fourth and final lead change.

The Warriors went into the half leading 24-23 before making their move in the third quarter.

The Warriors made just three shots from the field during the fourth quarter but went 10 of 14 from the free-throw line.

Ten of those freebies were taken by Olivarez, who was 8 for 10 from the stripe in the fourth quarter alone.

“Santa Rosa adjusted well,” De La Garza said. “They played a great defensive game. I feel we could have done some things a little bit better. Overall, it’s basketball. Sometimes shots go in and sometimes they don’t; you can’t always win every game.”

KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN— Harlingen South needed a jolt and received one from senior Joe Cortez.

Cortez returned to the lineup Tuesday night, scoring a game-high 23 points and helping the Hawks earn a 58-44 win over Brownsville Hanna.

“Having Joe back is huge,” Hawks coach Brian Molina said. “What he does is he extends the floor and he keeps defenses honest. Lately we have been seeing a lot of zone and I think that gives the shooters a chance to score, and it relieves a lot of the pressure from the other guys.”

With the win, South is now 3-5 in District 32-6A and is back in the hunt for a playoff spot with two games remaining. Up next is Los Fresnos before the regular-season finale against San Benito.

“I told the kids tonight, it is our backs against the wall,” Hawks coach Brian Molina said. “We have to come out fighting. One thing was we had a lot of road games during the first half, and now we have our final three games at home.”

Hanna, meanwhile, falls back to second place with a 6-2 record and will play Rivera on Friday. With the loss and a Los Fresnos win over San Benito, the Falcons are back in sole possession of first place in the district.

Two other Hawks finished in double figures. Grant Lowery netted 12 points, and Mark Becerra finished with 11.

During their first meeting, the defensive effort was there but the Hawks struggled to generate any offense. On Tuesday, the defense stepped up again, and this time the offense was hitting its shots.

Cortez drilled a pair of 3s that helped set the tone for the night during the first quarter. The Hawks hit four 3s in the opening period in taking a 15-11 lead and never looked back.

Hanna managed to cut the lead to seven at one point, but South had an answer for every shot thrown its way. Leading the offense for Hanna was junior Victor Campos, who scored a team-high 17 points.

“Tonight our defensive effort was still there,” Molina said. “Our shots started to fall, and now that we have some guys back we are able to do more things on defense. That helps our offense, and we are a completely different team. The kids capitalized and we did the little things right, we boxed out and made free throws, and those are the things you need to do when you play a team like Hanna who is in the district lead.”